WRAP: 2023 Betfred Super League Round 3

A full wrap of Round 3 of the Betfred Super League with AJ Lucantonio.

All listed times are AEDT, subtract 11 hours for UK local time.

RELATED: See the full list of 2023 Betfred Super League Draw and Results.

Warrington Wolves 36 Salford Red Devils 20

Venue: Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Crowd: 9616
Date: Friday 3 March 2023 at 7:00am

Warrington Wolves (36)
Tries: Matty Ashton, Thomas Mikaele, Josh Thewlis, George Williams, Ben Currie, Matt Dufty
Goals: Stefan Ratchford 6

Salford Red Devils (20)
Tries: Ellis Longstaff, Ryan Brierley, Marc Sneyd
Goals: Marc Sneyd 4

Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, Minikin, Ratchford, Ashton; Williams, Drinkwater; Mikaele, Clark, Vaughan, Currie, Mata'utia, Harrison. Int: Kasiano, Walker, Bullock, Whitehead.
Salford: Brierley, Sio, Cross, Lafai, Burgess; Croft, Sneyd; Ormondroyd, Ackers, Dupree, Watkins, Longstaff, Partington. Int: Sidlow, Vuniyayawa, Atkin, Wright.

A 30-0 second half surge from the Warrington Wolves has seen them taste victory over the Salford Red Devils in a back and forth opening clash to Round 3 of the Super League season.

The Wolves went ahead through Ben Currie's try inside the first ten minutes and it was set to be their night. But the Red Devils hit back with 20 unanswered points through tries from on-loan debutant Ellis Longstaff against his parent club, Ryan Brierley and Marc Sneyd, who converted all three and slotted over a penalty. This gave Salford a three possession lead going into the change of ends.

Their lead was going to be short-lived. Warrington hit back shortly after half-time when Matty Ashton dived over for a spectacular one-handed finish, sparking a turnaround in fortunes which continued for the home side after Salford's number 1 Brierley was sent to the sin-bin. New buy Tom Mikaele continued his strong start to the year crashing over to reduce the gap back down to two.

Josh Thewlis crossed after the hour mark to give the Wolves their second lead of the match, which was extended to six points following a foul in the act of scoring. It seemed Salford were running out of steam and after an explosive start, they were guilty of imploding in the final third. George Williams and Matt Dufty crossed with the latter's effort being deemed worthy of another eight point try due to foul play.

Catalans Dragons 38 Hull FC 6

Venue: Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
Crowd: 6933
Date: Saturday 4 March 2023 at 5:00am

Catalans Dragons (38)
Tries: Tom Johnstone, Paul Séguier, Mickael Goudemand, Siua Taukeiaho, Adam Keighran, Benjamin Garcia
Goals: Adam Keighran 7

Hull FC (6)
Tries: Andre Savelio
Goals: Jake Clifford 1

Catalans: Mourgue, Davies, Keighran, Romano, Johnstone; Rougé, May; Navarrete, McIlorum, Bousquet, McMeeken, Séguier, Garcia. Int: Goudemand, Taukeiaho, Dezaria, Chan.
Hull FC: Hoy, Swift, Sutcliffe, Scott, McIntosh; McNamara, Clifford; Evans, Dwyer, Satae, Griffin, Lane, Fash. Int: Sao, Savelio, Lovodua, Brown.

A ruthless display of attacking football has seen the Catalans Dragons thrash Hull FC by 38-6 in their Round 3 clash in the Super League.

After a slow opening to the game which saw a sole Adam Keighran penalty goal, the Dragons had the first try in the eighteenth minute of play when Tom Johnstone crossed for the first try.

Four minutes later, Paul Séguier strolled over the line to give the Dragons a 14-0 lead at the change of ends.

Three minutes after the resumption of play, Mickael Goudemand went over to extend the lead to 20 points.

Further tries to the former Roosters connection of Sio Siua Taukeiaho and Keighran extended the game further away from Hull FC. Hull finally got on the scoreboard inside the final five minutes when Andre Savelio crashed over to give Hull some scoreboard credibility.

However, the Dragons had the final laugh in this clash. Ben Garcia crossed in the final minute of play to give Catalans a 38-6 victory.

Wakefield Trinity 0 Huddersfield Giants 8

Venue: Be Well Support Stadium, Wakefield
Crowd: 4155
Date: Saturday 4 March 2023 at 6:45am

Wakefield Trinity (0)

Huddersfield Giants (8)
Tries: Joe Greenwood
Goals: Tui Lolohea 2

Wakefield: Kay, Kershaw, Langi, Taufua, Murphy; Gaskell, Lino; Whitbread, Hood, Atoni, Pitts, Ashurst, Crowther. Int: Smith, Battye, Proctor, Eseh.
Huddersfield: Lolohea, McGillvary, Marsters, Bibby, Cudjoe; Pryce, Fages; Hill, Peats, Wilson, McQueen, Jones, Yates. Int: Greenwood, Golding, English, Trout.

Despite fears over the safety of the pitch, Wakefield and Huddersfield went head to head in a scrappy game of football with the Giants holding on for a narrow 8-0 victory.

Both sides exchanged sets for large periods of the opening 40, with Trinity losing key winger Lewis Murphy halfway through the first half but the score remained at 0-0 at the break.

Minutes into the second half, the first points came from the boot of Tui Lolohea, as Theo Fages was taken late, with the scores at a duck egg, the Giants immediately pointed for the two. The Tongan international did the rest and slotted over the penalty goal.

It felt like an eternity, but the first try did eventually come, as smart play from Will Pryce and Tui Lolohea, saw the ball pass through hands, and end up with Joe Greenwood who powered over to score.

Huddersfield then continued to dominate, with Pryce dancing and coming close to the line, yet again was held up short, with Leroy Cudjoe also coming close. Wakefield's attack was repelled at every turn and were held to their second consecutive duck egg in 2023, alarm-bells for the Wildcats would be ringing early on.

Castleford Tigers 0 Wigan Warriors 36

Venue: Mend-A-Hose Jungle, Castleford
Crowd: 7565
Date: Saturday 4 March 2023 at 7:00am

Castleford Tigers (0)

Wigan Warriors (36)
Tries: Liam Marshall 3, Ethan Havard, Toby King, Jai Field
Goals: Harry Smith 6

Castleford: Evalds, Eden, Fonua, Broadbent, Faraimo; Widdop, Miller; Vete, McShane, Lawler, Edwards, Mellor, Westerman. Int: Massey, Milner, Matagi, Watts.
Wigan: Field, French, King, Wardle, Marshall; Cust, Smith; Singleton, Powell, Cooper, Isa, Farrell, Smithies. Int: Havard, Ellis, Mago, Pearce-Paul.

Despite a slow start, Wigan got themselves into gear to shut-out Castleford by 36-0 with winger Liam Marshall collecting a hattrick.

The opening half was one to forget for both sides with attacking chances coming at a premium. Marshall crossed for the first of his three tries three minutes prior to half-time, the conversion was missed but it was made up for with a penalty goal by Harry Smith on the half-time buzzer for a 6-0 lead.

Three minutes after the resumption, a fantastic piece of play by Bevan French who sent a lofted kick on the last, which was fumbled by the Castleford man on the try line, with Ethan Havard on hand to put the ball down to lead 12-0, Smith added a penalty five minutes later to lead 14-0.

Marshall crossed for his second when he intercepted a pass to run 70 metres to score and extend the margin to 20 points. Seven minutes from time, Toby King got through two defenders to cross and push the margin out to 26.

Two minutes from time, Jai Field sped his way through to rub salt into the wound before Marshall completed his hattrick to secure the 36-0 victory.

Hull KR 25 Leigh Leopards 30

Venue: Sewell Group Craven Park, Hull
Crowd: 8448
Date: Saturday 4 March 2023 at 7:00am

Hull KR (25)
Tries: Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Mikey Lewis, James Batchelor, Jordan Abdull
Goals: Will Dagger 4
Field Goals: Jordan Abdull 1

Leigh Leopards (30)
Tries: Tom Briscoe 2, Josh Charnley 2, Tom Amone
Goals: Ben Reynolds 5

Hull KR: Dagger, Ryan, Opacic, Kenny-Dowall, Hall; Lewis, Abdull; Sue, Litten, Kennedy, Batchelor, Linnett, Minchella. Int: Parcell, King, Halton, Luckley.
Leigh: O'Brien, Charnley, Hardaker, Leutele, Briscoe; Reynolds, Lam; Amone, Davis, Mulhern, Shorrocks, O'Donnell, Asiata. Int: Nakubuwai, Seumanufagai, Chamberlain, Ipape.

A last minute try by Josh Charnley has given the Leigh Leopards their first victory in their return to the Super League in a back and forth encounter.

Hull KR opened the scoring in the third minute when Shaun Kenny-Dowall crossed following a bat back by Kane Linnett. Eleven minutes later, captain Tom Amone crashed over from short range and we were set for quite the back and forth affair. Three minutes later, Rovers hit back when Mikey Lewis crossed from the scrum, but you guessed it, the lead was short lived.

Tom Briscoe crossed out wide for the first of his two tries to level us up at 12. However, Rovers had the final say on the buzzer when James Batchelor took a short ball from Sam Luckley's and barged over to score. Following a big set after points, Jordan Abdull landed a field goal to give Rovers some further security in the contest. This made it 19-12 to Rovers at the change of ends.

Leigh crossed first nine minutes after the resumption when Charnley crossed off Rovers' own mistakes to reduce the gap to 1. Abdull had a try of his own just before the hour mark when Lewis broke through and linked up with his man to put the margin back out to seven points.

The Leopards made the game tighter in the final ten minutes when Briscoe added a second to reduce the gap to one point. However, the Leopards found a way to the line and crossed on the final play of the game when Charnley crossed to give Leigh their second away win in Super League history.

St Helens 24 Leeds Rhinos 25

Venue: Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
Crowd: 15148
Date: Saturday 4 March 2023 at 7:00am

St Helens (24)
Tries: Lewis Dodd 2, Joey Lussick, Mark Percival
Goals: Tommy Makinson 4

Leeds Rhinos (25)
Tries: Rhyse Martin 2, Ash Handley, Cameron Smith
Goals: Rhyse Martin 4
Field Goals: Blake Austin 1

St Helens: Welsby, Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Bennison; Lomax, Dodd; Walmsley, Lussick, Lees, Mata'utia, Sironen, Knowles. Int: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Wingfield, Bell, Royle.
Leeds: Myler, Fusitu'a, Macdonald, Handley, Olpherts; Austin, Sezer; Holroyd, O'Connor, Tetevano, McDonnell, Martin, Smith. Int: Leeming, Sangaré, Walters, Donaldson.

The Grand Final rematch promised fireworks and it was a Blake Austin field goal that separated the two sides in this one.

The first try came to the Leeds side in the 11th minute of play. The visitors got possession close to their own line, but worked it wide for Nene Macdonald to race down the touchline before the ball ended up in Ash Handley's hands to cross for the first try.

Five minutes later, Joey Lussick bounced back for the Saints burrowing his way over out of acting half to tie the game up. It was bang bang for the Saints four minutes later, with Lewis Dodd bursting through the defence to give St Helens the early 12-6 lead. The lead didn't last long when Rhyse Martin won the race to an Aidan Sezer grubber to lock the game back up at 12.

The game was only level for three minutes as Saints hit the front when Dodd collected his second following a disastrous in-goal mix up from Leeds and it was 18-12 where it stayed at the break. 5 minutes into the second stanza, Mark Percival won the race to a Jack Welsby grubber and it appeared the Saints found their groove.

Curtis Sironen was given a yellow card on the hour mark in the first of many controversial decisions in this fixture. Leeds capitalised on the man advantage and Cam Smith crossed from short range to reduce the gap to just six points. With ten minutes to go, Martin crossed for his second from short fire range and the Rhinos were locked up at 24.

Refereeing controversies had a profound impact on the final result. What appeared to be a shoulder charge by Leeds's Sam Walters was deemed a fair shot by the referee and Saints were penalised for the overreaction by Welsby. A late shot on Myler by Konrad Hurrell was deemed to be direct contact to the head by Chris Kendall and he was shown red. Off the ensuing set, a field goal by Blake Austin sailed over the posts to give the Rhinos an upset one point victory and got revenge on the Saints.

Table after Round 3

RELATED: Click here to view the current Betfred Super League ladder.

RLP stat leaders

Top Pointscorers

Top Tryscorers

Statistics courtesy RLP.